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NOTE FROM THE CHAIR

Dear DPS Members,

I hope you are all enjoying the return of cooler weather, the resurgence of school, and the current great planetary science! NASA celebrated the arrival of MAVEN at Mars, New Horizons passed the orbit of Neptune on its way to Pluto, Cassini sent back more astonishing images of Saturn, and much more, including the positive outcomes of the Senior Review of planetary missions. DPS extends kudos to our international partners for the amazing images of Comet C-G from Rosetta and the successful orbital insertion of India¹s Mars Orbiter Mission.

Plans for the DPS meeting in Tucson are coming to fruition, and it is going to be great! In order to assure the best possible meeting, the AAS provides a “Guide to AAS Meeting Etiquette [1],” including the following excerpt: “The AAS is ... dedicated to the philosophy of equality of opportunity and treatment for all members and other meeting attendees, regardless of gender, race, ethnic origin, religion, age, marital status, sexual orientation, disabilities, or any other reason not related to scientific merit. It is AAS policy that all participants in Society activities [including DPS meetings] will enjoy an environment free from all forms of discrimination, harassment, and retaliation. Harassment, sexual or otherwise, is a form of misconduct that undermines the integrity of Society meetings. (Read the full AAS anti-harassment policy [2].)”
Your DPS leadership supports this zero-tolerance policy for discrimination, harassment, and retaliation. Do not hesitate to contact me or any other DPS officer with concerns about theses issues. [1] http://aas.org/posts/news/2013/12/guide-aas-meeting-etiquette[1]
[2] http://aas.org/policies/anti-harassment-policy[2].

One of the initiatives I outlined at the beginning of my tenure was a desire to update the DPS website. I am pleased to announce that DPS will be rolling out its new site very shortly. Major thanks to Tony Roman for his work on this during the past year, as well as thanks to the AAS for their support, especially Scott Idem and Jerry Lin. Stay tuned, and send feedback to Tony.

Finally, the DPS leadership is soliciting feedback about your interactions with our journal Icarus. We welcome both positive and negative feedback (we usually hear more of the negative). Send your comments to Vice Chair Bonnie Buratti (bonnie.buratti@jpl.nasa.gov[3]).

The DPS Federal Relationship Subcommittee will host a meeting to review its activities over the past year, and set a course for the coming year. All are welcome! The DPS committee will provide lunch this year. Pre-registration at http://bit.ly/FRS_Lunch_2014[5] is required due to space limitations by 17 October, so we can get an accurate head count..

Please remember also that after the FRS meeting, we will have the Members meeting at the same place from 1 to 2:30 pm. You’re all invited !

Please join us for an informal meeting and discussion hour over lunch on Tuesday, November 11th 2014, from 12:00-1:30 p.m. This year’s topics will revolve around the ideas of powerful communication and how to be an ally to minority community members. We will have presentation material interspersed with plenty of discussion time. Please feel free to bring any information/announcements related to women in astronomy and planetary science to share.

Thanks to the generosity of the DPS committee, we will be able to provide lunch this year. All are welcome(!), but pre-registration athttp://bit.ly/DPS_WIPS_2014[6]
is required due to space limitations. Please try to register before October 15th so we can accurately place the lunch order.

C) OPAG DOWN HALL MEETING

We will be holding an OPAG townhall meeting at the DPS this year. The townhall will be Thursday from noon to 1:30 pm. The topic of the townhall will be to get your feedback on the new OPAG science goals document.

A draft of the new OPAG science goals document is posted on the OPAG website homepage: http://www.lpi.usra.edu/opag/[7] . As we discussed at the last OPAG meeting, this draft has been pulled together by the OPAG steering committee to give us a starting point. We’d now like to get your input, comments and feedback. Thank you to our colleagues who have already responded!

Also of interest to this community is the last RPS provisioning study, posted at http://www.lpi.usra.edu/PSD-RPS/RPS-Provisioning-Study-Cassani-Report-May[9] 2001.pdf. Though events of the last 13 years have changed the environment this report still gives valuable insight into the issues surrounding RPS power systems. For example, Appendix O provides insight into the evolution of funding arrangements up to that time. The latter has, of course, evolved yet again with the language of the FY14 budget, which transferred responsibility of infrastructure costs to NASA. DPS members who are interested in RPS power will find this document and the others on the PSD-RPS website (lpi.usra.edu/PSD-RPS[10]) to be helpful context for understanding ongoing discussions.

Finally, we have decided on the date for the next OPAG meeting: it will take place 19-20 February 2015, at Ames. Please mark your calendars!

The National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) cordially invites you to an NRAO Community Event at the 46th DPS meeting. This event is specifically designed for the planetary science community, and in particular for those who do not regularly utilize radio wavelength data in their research. If you would like to learn more about the planetary science that is possible with NRAO facilities, this session is for you. We will provide a brief overview of the NRAO telescopes and their instruments followed by broad talks describing the possible planetary science using them at submm, mm and cm wavelengths by I. de Pater (Berkeley) and I. Crossfield (U. Arizona). We will also provide practical information on how to prepare proposals for the VLA, GBT and ALMA.

You won't want to miss this year's opening reception at the JW Starr Pass Marriott, which coincides with Tucson's annual celebration of the Mexican Dia de los Muertos holiday! Tucson's celebration consists of the All Souls Procession, which typically draws about 100,000 people for a parade through downtown Tucson to the Mercado San Agustin, involving dancers, costumes, musicians, strange home-made floats, etc. As many of our meeting organizers and locals would have normally participated in the Procession, we would like to bring some of that atmosphere to this year's reception. We will honor the holiday with Mexican buffet and traditional music, and don't be surprised if some of your fellow space cases show up in unusual outfits! As this is a chance to celebrate the lives of those who have come before us, we would like to display photos of DPS members who have left us, recently or not so recently. Please send contributions to [Joe Spitale; link to AAS directory entry]. If you prefer to consume your announcements in FAQ form, keep reading!

2014 DPS opening reception FAQ:

Q: Will I want to miss the DPS 2014 opening reception?
A: No you won't!

Q: When is it?
A: Sunday, 9 Nov. 6:30--8:00 pm!

Q: Where is it?
A: On the patio at the JW Starr Pass Marriott, Tucson, AZ, USA, Earth!

Q: Will the reception be scary?
A: Only if you are afraid of receptions!

Q: Is this going to be like some kind of depressing funeral?
A: It will not! The Day of the Dead is about celebrating life!

Q: Will this reception involve that thing where you're talking to a more senior scientist and then another more senior scientist shows up and then suddenly you're invisible?
A: Yup, it probably will. That would be a good time to hit the buffet!

We want to remind you that the Spitzer Cycle-11 proposal deadline is this month on October 29. Both the NASA Astrophysics and the Planetary Sciences Divisions are providing support for Spitzer operations.

Priority in the selection of Cycle-11 will be given to programs that highlight :
-- Astro2010 science themes
-- Planetary science programs observing targets in our Solar System.
• -- Investigations that concentrate on developing the scientific landscape that JWST will explore, or will help maximize the JWST scientific return.

In this cycle proposers are especially encouraged to consider compelling planetary science campaigns (long-term/multiple observations) that focus on the changing nature of solar system objects over time. Many of these objects are possible future mission targets as outlined in the most recent planetary decadal survey. Proposers should identify how these observations contribute to the body of scientific knowledge needed to help refine objectives for future missions and aid in the understanding of the origin or evolution of the targeted body. These major observing projects should be of lasting importance to the broad planetary community with the Spitzer observational data yielding a substantial and coherent database that can also be used by subsequent planetary researchers.

The Cycle-11 CP solicits Exploration Science (ES) General Observer, regular General Observer (GO) and Snapshot proposals. Cycle-11 programs will execute in the February 2015 - September 2016 timeframe. We expect to select 6,700 - 9,200 hours of scheduling priority 1 programs and 1,000 hours of priority 2 snapshot programs. Major changes in the Cycle-11 call for proposals, compared to previous cycles, are summarized in the Executive Summary.

All programmatic and technical information for Cycle-11 is available electronically from the Proposal Kit section of the Spitzer Science Center website at

Investigators worldwide from all types of institutions are eligible to submit proposals in response to this CP. Joint HST or Chandra observations can be proposed as part of a Spitzer Cycle-11 proposal.

Proposal Deadline: 29 October 2014, 4:00 PM PDT

All proposals must be submitted electronically using Spot, the SSC proposal planning and submission software. The S19 version of Spot is available from the SSC website and via the auto-update feature in Spot. Proposers must use this version of the software to submit their proposals.
The required Cycle-11 proposal templates will be available at the Proposal Kit website in late August and the proposal submission system will also open at that time.

If you have any questions or need advice on planning your solar system observations with Spitzer, please just contact our Helpdesk at

Dear Colleague:
Please distribute this announcement to deserving undergraduate and graduate students in your department or your Space Grant programs.

The Gerald A. Soffen Memorial Fund is pleased to announce the last 2014 Travel Grant application opportunity for undergraduate and graduate students pursuing studies in fields of space science and engineering.

The Travel Grants, in the amount of $500, enable student recipients to attend professional meetings to present their research. The Fall 2014 Travel Grant application deadline is October 15, 2014. Jerry Soffen, a biologist by training, led a distinguished career in NASA, including serving as the Project Scientist for Viking and as an architect for the NASA Astrobiology Institute. The Travel Grant continues Jerry’s dedication to educating and involving future generations in space science and engineering pursuits. The electronic application materials and instructions are located on the Soffen Fund website:http://SoffenFund.org[20]

Questions regarding the application or application process may be sent to:info@SoffenFund.org[21]

The Department of Physics and Space Sciences at Florida Institute of Technology invites applications for a permanent faculty position, beginning August 2015. This position is at the rank of assistant professor, but higher ranks may be considered for senior or well-established candidates. Candidates working in any planetary science field are encouraged to apply, including those affiliated with space missions, solar system observations or theory, and/or exoplanet research. The successful candidate will have guaranteed access to the Ortega telescope in Florida and the SARA facilities at Kitt Peak, Cerro Tololo, and La Palma. Candidates should be committed to excellence in teaching at the undergraduate and graduate levels, and to developing or bringing a leading research program in planetary science. Florida Tech’s new Planetary Science undergraduate degree is one of only a few in the world. The candidate will also mentor and train students in our Space Sciences masters and doctoral programs.

Florida Tech is located on the east coast of central Florida, just south of the Kennedy Space Center. Information about the department and its current research activities can be found at http://cos.fit.edu/pss/[22]. For more information, interested candidates should contact Dr. Daniel Batcheldor, PSS Interim Department Head. To apply, email searchpss@fit.edu[23] with the subject “Position # PSS802”. In a single PDF, provide a cover letter, CV, statements of research and teaching experience and interests, and the names and contact information of at least three references. Review of applications will begin on January 5, but applications will be accepted until the position is filled. Highly qualified applicants may consider applying to our open position for the permanent department head. Florida Tech is an equal opportunity employer.

C) 2015 SAGAN FELLOWSHIPS

The NASA Exoplanet Science Institute announces the 2015 Sagan Postdoctoral Fellowship Program and solicits applications for fellowships to begin in the fall of 2015.

The Sagan Fellowships support outstanding recent postdoctoral scientists to conduct independent research that is broadly related to the science goals of the NASA Exoplanet Exploration program. The primary goal of missions within this program is to discover and characterize planetary systems and Earth-like planets around nearby stars.

The proposed research may be theoretical, observational, or instrumental. This program is open to applicants of any nationality who have earned (or will have earned) their doctoral degrees on or after January 1, 2012, in astronomy, physics, or related disciplines. The fellowships are tenable at U.S. host institutions of the fellows' choice, subject to a maximum of one new fellow per host institution per year. The duration of the fellowship is up to three years: an initial one-year appointment and two annual renewals contingent on satisfactory performance and availability of NASA funds.

The deadline for applications, letters of reference and the institutional letter(s) of endorsement is Thursday, November 6, 2014. Offers will be made before February 1, 2015, and new appointments are expected to begin on or about September 1, 2015.

The International Max Planck Research School for Solar System Science
at the University of Göttingen in Germany (Solar System School) offers
a research-oriented doctoral programme covering the physical aspects of
Solar system science. It is jointly run by the Max Planck Institute
for Solar System Research (MPS) and the University of Göttingen.
Research at the MPS covers three main research areas: ”Sun and
Heliosphere”, ”Solar and Stellar Interiors” and ”Planets and Comets”.
Solar System School students collaborate with leading scientists in
these fields and graduates are awarded a doctoral degree from the
renowned University of Göttingen or, if they choose, another university.

The Solar System School is open to students from all countries and
offers an international three-year PhD programme in an exceptional
research environment with state-of-the-art facilities on the Göttingen
Research Campus. Successful applicants receive an attractive scholarship
covering relocation support, housing and living expenses and are exempt
from tuition fees.

The language of the structured graduate programme is English, with German
language courses offered (optional). The programme includes an inspiring
curriculum of scientific lectures and seminars as well as advanced training
workshops and provides travel funds to attend international conferences.

Applicants to the Solar System School should have a keen interest in
Solar system science and a record of academic excellence. They must
have, or must be about to obtain, an M.Sc. degree or equivalent in
physics or a related field, including a written Masters thesis (or a
scientific publication), and must document a good command of the
English language.

*** Applications may be submitted from October 1 through our online
*** application portal. Review of applications for a starting date
*** of September 2015 will begin on 15 November 2014.